Congratulations to
Martin Laine
of Lunenburg and
Larry Gladding
of Leominster for tying for 1st-2nd place in the
George Sturgis Memorial. Marty needed only a
draw to clinch first after leading the
tournament following Round 3. But he came up
against
Geoff LePoer
of Westford in the final round and had an
opening and early middlegame advantage before
allowing Geoff enough counterplay in the late
middlegame to win the game and end Marty's
six-game winning streak. Congratulations to
Geoff for finishing third and to
Bruce Felton
of Fitchburg for ending up in fourth place.

Another player who had a noteworthy performance
was
Ernest Fandreyer
of Fitchburg. Ernest played in his first
rated game on February 6th 2002 at the age of
75. His provisional rating after first
tournament was 806 based on 5 games.
By August, when he received his first
non-provisional rating, he was up to 993.
Now at the age of 83(!) Ernest has broken 1500
for the first time in his life - quite an
accomplishment indeed!

Martin Laine

0-1

Geoff LePoer

Larry Gladding

1-0

Paul Giovino

Eugene Bedard

0-1

Bruce Felton

Lenny Arsenault

1/2-1/2

Tom Fratturelli

Brian Biglow

0-1

Ernest Fandreyer

Mike Sheridan

0-1

Joe Magdalenski

Ken Carabba

0-1

Max Sewell

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS

4.0

Laine,
Gladding

3.5

LePoer

3.0

Felton

2.5

Mirijanian, Giovino, Gurge, Arsenault,
Bedard, Fandreyer

2.0

Couture, Barlas, Fratturelli, Magdalenski,
Chromiak

1.5

Miller, Sewell

1.0

Biglow,
Sheridan, Steadman, Leonda, Carabba, Scanlon

December 23rd, 2009

George Sturgis Memorial

Round 4 (of 5)

Overdue Congratulations & News Of The Week

Before giving this week's results,
some congratulations are in order for performances
in the previous tournament, the Arthur Bisguier
Octogenarian.

First and foremost,
congratulations to Ernest Fandreyer
for his over-the-top performance in winning huge
upsets against former club champions Martin Laine
and Bruce Felton. In addition, Ernest drew 2
games against opponents rated more than 300 points
higher. Ernest's rating increase for the
tournament was an amazing 179 points! This was
such a large increase that when I submitted the
results to the USCF they returned it with a warning
to check that no mistake had been made in entering
Ernest's results! Due to this big ratings jump,
Ernest achieved a new all-time high rating of 1492.

Congratulations are also in order
for
Paul Giovino who
raised his rating to a new all-time high of 1769 and
to
Francis Scanlon
who increased his rating by 95 points.

We now return you to the news of
the week...

Martin
Laine won his 6th game in a row to
maintain a 1 point lead over Larry Gladding with
1 week to go in the tournament. Larry has 2nd
place all to himself. Before tonight there were 9(!)
players tied for 2nd place.

Dave Couture,
Richard Chromiak, Wayne Steadman, Ken Carabba,
and Francis Scanlon did not play the round.

CURRENT STANDINGS

POINTS

4.0

Laine

3.5

------

3.0

Gladding

2.5

Mirijanian, LePoer, Giovino, Gurge, Bedard

2.0

Felton, Couture, Barlas, Arsenault, Chromiak

1.5

Miller, Fratturelli, Fandreyer

1.0

Biglow, Steadman, Leonda, Carabba, Scanlon,
Magdalenski

0.5

Sewell

December 16th, 2009

George Sturgis Memorial

Round 3 (of 5)

Interesting Times

After 3 rounds we have an
interesting and possibly unprecedented situation.
Former club champion Martin
Laine of Lunenburg has a full point lead.
This is pretty unusual in and of itself after 3
rounds, but even odder is the fact that we have 9(!)
players tied for 2nd place. The next couple of
weeks should prove interesting!

I want to thank Max Sewell, who
gladly filled in for me for the past couple of
months. I appreciate it very much and want to
wish Max the best of luck as he undertakes the
editorship of "Chess Horizons".

- Dave Couture

Bruce Felton

0-1

Martin Laine

Geoff LePoer

0-1

Larry Gladding

Tom Fratturelli

0-1

Paul Giovino

George Miller

0-1

Ken Gurge

Lenny Arsenault

1-0

Ernest Fandreyer

Eugene Bedard

1-0

Max Sewell

Joe Magdalenski

1-0

Constantin Leonda

George Mirijanian, Dave Couture, Arthur
Barlas, Richard Chromiak, Francis Scanlon and
Brian Biglow received half-point byes. Wayne
Steadman and Ken Carabba did not play the round.

Club champion
Larry Gladding of Leominster chalked up
his second tournament victory in a row by
winning the Arthur B. Bisguier Octogenarian
Tribute. Capturing second place was
Paul Giovino of Lunenburg, while
George Mirijanian of Fitchburg finished
in third place. Congratulations to Larry, Paul
and George. The biggest story of the tournament,
however, was the performance of
Ernest Fandreyer of Fitchburg, who is
expected to gain the most number of rating
points after upsetting two Class A players and
drawing two Class B players. Ernest is expected
to net well over 100 USCF rating points.

Larry Gladding
of Leominster, the reigning Wachusett Chess Club
champion, chalked up his first tournament
victory of the 2009-2010 season and won the
Hervey R. Brisson Memorial with a score of
4.5-0.5 in a field of 22 players. Needing only a
half point in the final round to clinch first,
Gladding succeeded in his goal and drew with
two-time club champion
Bruce Felton
of Fitchburg. Capturing second place was 2008
club champion
Martin Laine
of Lunenburg. Deadlocked in third place were
Felton
and 15-time club champion
George Mirijanian
of Fitchburg. Congratulations to all the top
scorers.

Bruce Felton of
Fitchburg performed a miracle in the final round of
the Tigran Petrosian Memorial by drawing a
theoretically lost game against Dave Couture
of Westminster. The game, one of the
most fascinating and longest played at the club in
decades, saw Dave a rook ahead in a two rook, bishop
and pawn vs. rook, bishop and two pawn endgame where
he succeeded in eliminating Bruce's dangerous passed
pawn on the a-file. Dave traded rooks followed
by driving Bruce's king into the corner on the
kingside. Still having the win in hand, Dave allowed
Bruce to skewer his remaining rook with his bishop
and a draw resulted. The draw gave Bruce a tie for
first place with Martin Laine
of Lunenburg, who had earlier defeated George
Mirijanian of Fitchburg in a bizarre variation of
the O-Kelly line in the Sicilian Defense.
Congratulations to Bruce and Martin for their shared
win and to Dave for finishing as runner-up.

- George
Mirijanian

Dave Couture

1/2-1/2

Bruce Felton

George Mirijanian

0-1

Martin Laine

Arthur Barlas

1/2-1/2

Lenny Arsenault

Eugene Bedard

1/2-1/2

Ken Gurge

Wayne Steadman

0-1

Tom Fratturelli

Brian Biglow

1-0

Max Sewell

Mike Sheridan

1-0

Ken Carabba

Not playing the round were Paul Giovino, George
Miller, Ernest Fandreyer, Paul Godin, Parker Henry and Richard Chromiak.

FINAL STANDINGS

POINTS

4.0

Felton, Laine

3.5

Couture

3.0

Arsenault

2.5

Mirijanian, Giovino, Barlas, Bedard,
Fratturelli, Miller, Biglow

2.0

Gurge, Sheridan, Fandreyer

1.5

Steadman, Sewell, Carabba

1.0

Godin, Henry, Chromiak

August 26th, 2009

Tigran Petrosian Memorial

Round 4 (of 5)

Martin Laine

1/2-1/2

Bruce Felton

Ernest Fandreyer

0-1

Dave Couture

Lenny Arsenault

1/2-1/2

George Miller

Ken Gurge

1/2-1/2

Brian Biglow

Mike Sheridan

0-1

Eugene Bedard

Tom Fratturelli

1/2-1/2

Max Sewell

Ken Carabba

1-0

Parker Henry

Richard Chromiak

0-1

Wayne Steadman

George Mirijanian and Paul Giovino received
half-point byes. Arthur Barlas and Paul Godin did not play the round.

Note that on the USCF site, when a listing is done of the
top 200 Massachusetts players, Roman Dzindzichashvili is not
listed. When I look at the individual listing for
Dzindzichashvili though it shows his state as Massachusetts.
Go figure.

August 5th, 2009

Tigran Petrosian Memorial

Round 1 (of 5)

Brian Biglow

0-1

George Mirijanian

Bruce Felton

1-0

Mike Sheridan

Wayne Steadman

0-1

Ken Gurge

Paul Giovino

1-0

Max Sewell

Ernest Fandreyer

0-1

Lenny Arsenault

Eugene Bedard

1-0

Ken Carabba

CURRENT
STANDINGS

Points

1.0

Mirijanian, Felton, Gurge, Giovino, Arsenault, Bedard

0.5

Couture,
Laine, Miller

0.0

Biglow,
Sheridan, Steadman, Sewell, Fandreyer, Carabba

July 29th, 2009

Harlow B. Daly Memorial

Final Round (of 5)

Dave Couture
of Westminster wins Harlow B. Daly Memorial

Becomes USCF-rated
Class A player for first time in career!

Dave Couture
reached a milestone in winning the Harlow B.
Daly Memorial tournament. By scoring 4.5-0.5 and
gaining 60 USCF rating points, the Westminster
player became a nationally rated Class A player
for the first time in his long chess-playing
career. Congratulations to Dave for his great
achievement! Congratulations also to two-time
club champion
Bruce Felton
of Fitchburg and multi-time club "B' champion
Paul Giovino
of Lunenburg for tying for 2nd-3rd place with
scores of 3.5-1.5.

-George Mirijanian

Ken Gurge

0-1

Dave Couture

Mike Sheridan

0-1

Bruce Felton

George Miller

0-1

Paul Giovino

Lenny Arsenault

1-0

Eduardo Valadares

Ernest Fandreyer

0-1

Brian Biglow

Max Sewell

1/2-1/2

Wayne Steadman

Ken Carabba

1-0

Richard Chromiak

Trilok Shahi

1-0

Stephan Chromiak

George Mirijanian,
Larry Gladding, Paul Godin, Martin Laine, Tom
Fratturelli, Eugene Bedard and Parker Henry did not
play the round.

Newly crowned club champion, Larry Gladding of
Leominster, scored his 3rd win in a row to break a
4-way tie for first and take over sole possession of
the lead. Rather than taking a draw in what
looked like a drawn endgame (4 pawns against 4 pawns
on the same wing) Larry fought on the win the
endgame.

We were blessed by
the appearance of two new players who just joined the USCF, and
a former club champion whom we haven't seen in nearly eight
years. Joining us in our new tournament are Trilok Shahi, who is
a senior at St. John's Prep School in Danvers, and Parker Henry,
who played some years ago in the Monday night scholastic unrated
tournaments held at Crocker Elementary School in Fitchburg.
Coming back after an absence is 1967 Wachusett Chess Club
champion Paul Godin of Bedford, who is a Fitchburg native as
well as a USCF and MACA life member. The last time we saw Paul
was in the second round of the Johnny Appleseed Open on
September 12, 2001, when the club was meeting at the Unitarian
church in Leominster. Welcome all three!

Larry Gladdingof Leominster is the new club
champion! Congratulations Larry!

Larry Gladding
of Leominster became a three-time club champion by defeating
rival
Gary Brassard
of Leominster in the final game of the 2009 Wachusett Chess Club
championship. Brassard, who had the white pieces and needed only
a draw to clinch his first club championship title, faltered in
the middlegame and lost a crucial a-pawn that led to his defeat
when Gladding queened his own a-pawn that put him a rook ahead
and paved the way to victory. In the only other make-up game
from the "A" division,
Martin
Laine
of Lunenburg defeated
Dave Couture
of Westminster and garnered clear fourth place in the process.
Tournament winner Gladding had previously been club co-champion
in 1998 and 1992.

- George Mirijanian

FINAL "A"
DIVISION STANDINGS

Player W L D Pts
Pct

Larry Gladding 5 1
1 5.5 .786

Bruce Felton 3 0
4 5.0 .714

Gary Brassard 4
1 2 5.0 .714

Martin Laine 3
1 3 4.5 .643

Dave Couture 3 3
1 3.5 .500

Ken Gurge
2 4 1 2.5 .357

Len Arsenault 2
5 0 2.0 .286

Geoff LePoer
0 7 0 0.0 .000

Congratulations to the
following players whose ratings increased more than 50 points:

Congratulations to the
following players whose Quick Chess ratings increased more than
50 points:

GEORGE MILLER +115

WAYNE STEADMAN +103

KEN CARABBA
+81GENE BEDARD +52

June 17th, 2009

Wachusett CC Championship

Round 7 (of 7)

"B" Division

It's Eduardo In A Runaway!

Eduardo Valadares
of Marlborough came back from his first loss last week to win this
week's final round game and take the "B" division by a full point
and a half! Congratulations also to
Mike Sheridan
of Petersham and Arthur Barlas
of Chelmsford for tying for 2nd place.

George Miller

0-1

Eduardo
Valadares

Mike
Sheridan

1-0

Arthur
Barlas

Paul
Giovino

1-0

Tom
Fratturelli

Eugene
Bedard

1-0

Max Sewell

Brian
Biglow

1-0

Mark
Norris

Wayne
Steadman

1-0

Stephan
Chromiak

Richard
Chromiak

0-1

Ken
Carabba

Ernest Fandreyer received a half-point bye and
Jeff Lischer did not play the round.

FINAL "B"
DIVISION
STANDINGS

Points

6.0

Valadares (winner)

5.5

-----

5.0

-----

4.5

Sheridan, Barlas

4.0

Giovino, Bedard, Biglow, Miller, Steadman

3.5

Fratturelli, Carabba

3.0

Lischer, Fandreyer

2.5

Sewell, Norris

2.0

S.
Chromiak, R. Chromiak

"A" Division

Gary Brassard Still In The Driver's Seat

In
the end, it all comes down to the last game between the 2
friends and leaders -

Gary Brassard
and
Larry Gladding,
both of Leominster.
Next week Gary will have white against Larry in a makeup game.
If Gary wins or draws, he will be the club champion for the
first time. If Larry wins, HE will be the club champion.
Larry has shared the club championship title twice in 1992 and
1998, but this would be his first time as the sole club
champion. It promises to be an excellent game.

Len Arsenault

0-1

Gary
Brassard

Dave
Couture

1/2-1/2

Bruce
Felton

Martin
Laine

1/2-1/2

Ken Gurge

Geoff
LePoer

0F-1F

Larry
Gladding

CURRENT "A" DIVISION
STANDINGS (by Winning %)

Player

W

L

D

PCT

GB

GR

Gary Brassard

4

0

2

.833

-

1

Larry Gladding

4

1

1

.750

˝

1

Bruce Felton

3

0

4

.714

˝

0

Dave Couture

3

2

1

.583

1˝

1

Martin Laine

2

1

3

.583

1˝

1

Ken Gurge

2

4

1

.357

3

0

Len Arsenault

2

5

0

.286

3˝

0

Geoff LePoer

0

7

0

.000

5˝

0

Final pairings on June 24:

Brassard-Gladding

Laine-Couture

June 10th, 2009

Wachusett CC Championship

Round 6 (of 7)

Brassard Moves Into Driver's Seat

Gary Brassard
of Leominster defeated
Dave Couture
of Westminster tonight to move into first place
in the club championship (see
A Cautionary Tale on the Games page).
Gary has 2 rounds to go and if he wins both he
will be the club champion for the first time.

Jeff Lischer received a
half-point bye and Richard Chromiak
received a full-point bye.

CURRENT "B" DIVISION
STANDINGS

Points

5.0

Valadares

4.5

Barlas

4.0

Miller

3.5

Fratturelli, Sheridan

3.0

Giovino, Bedard, Lischer, Biglow,
Steadman

2.5

Sewell, Norris, Fandreyer, Carabba

2.0

S. Chromiak, R. Chromiak

June 3rd, 2009

Wachusett CC Championship

Round 5 (of 7)

The "A" division is becoming more interesting, now that Larry
handed Dave his first loss. As Yogi Berra once said: "It ain't
over 'til it's over." - George Mirijanian

With
only 2 rounds left (for most of the players), ALL of the active
players are still in the running for 1st place. It's possible,
albeit highly unlikely, for there to be a 7-way tie for 1st place! Only Gary Brassard and Dave Couture, who play each other next week,
completely control their own destinies though. IF either Gary
or Dave win all their remaining games, they will be the club
champion.

"A" Division

Dave Couture

0-1

Larry Gladding

Bruce Felton

1/2-1/2

Gary Brassard

Lenny Arsenault

1-0

Martin Laine

Geoff LePoer

0F-1F

Ken Gurge

CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Winning %)

Player

W

L

D

PCT

GB

GR

Dave Couture

3

1

0

.750

-

3

Gary Brassard

2

0

2

.750

-

3

Bruce Felton

2

0

3

.700

-

2

Larry Gladding

3

1

1

.700

-

2

Martin Laine

2

1

2

.600

˝

2

Ken
Gurge

2

3

0

.400

1˝

2

Len Arsenault

2

3

0

.400

1˝

2

Geoff LePoer

0

7

0

.000

4˝

0

GB - Games Behind

GR - Games
Remaining

CURRENT
"A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Point Total)

Points

3.5

Felton,
Gladding

3.0

Couture,
Brassard, Laine

2.5

-----

2.0

Gurge, Arsenault

1.5

-----

1.0

-----

0.5

-----

0.0

LePoer (withdrawn)

"B" Division

Eduardo STILL Unstoppable!

Congratulations to Eduardo on his 5th consecutive victory! Eduardo, with a point and a half lead, needs only a draw next week
to clinch to clinch the "B" division championship.

Brian Biglow

0-1

Eduardo Valadares

Arthur Barlas

1-0

Tom Fratturelli

Wayne Steadman

1/2-1/2

Paul Giovino

Eugene Bedard

1/2-1/2

Mark Norris

Stephan Chromiak

0-1

George Miller

Ernest Fandreyer

0-1

Jeff Lischer

Max Sewell

0-1

Mike Sheridan

Ken Carabba

1-0

Richard Chromiak

CURRENT "B" DIVISION
STANDINGS

Points

5.0

Valadares

4.5

-----

4.0

-----

3.5

Barlas

3.0

Biglow, Miller, Steadman

2.5

Giovino, Bedard, Lischer, Fratturelli,
Sheridan, Norris, Carabba

2.0

S. Chromiak

1.5

Sewell, Fandreyer

1.0

R. Chromiak

The following link takes you to the Massachusetts top 200
players list. We have 6 club members listed there - not
bad!

Geoff LePoer has withdrawn from the
tournament so his remaining games will be
forfeited. Geoff's remaining games are
with Ken Gurge, Martin Laine, and Larry Gladding
so these forfeit wins have been credited to
those players. Because of Geoff's
withdrawal and a couple of postponed games, the
remaining players have 2, 3, or 4 games
left. The best reflection of the current
standings is the table below that lists the
players in order of winning %.

CURRENT "A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by
Winning %)

Player

W

L

D

PCT

GB

GR

Dave Couture

3

0

0

1.000

-

4

Gary Brassard

2

0

1

.833

˝

4

Bruce Felton

2

0

2

.750

˝

3

Martin Laine

2

0

2

.750

˝

3

Larry Gladding

2

1

1

.625

1

3

Ken Gurge

2

3

0

.400

2

2

Len Arsenault

1

3

0

.250

2˝

3

Geoff LePoer

0

7

0

.000

5.0

0

GB - Games Behind

GR - Games Remaining

CURRENT
"A" DIVISION STANDINGS (by Point Total)

Points

3.0

Couture, Felton,
Laine

2.5

Brassard, Gladding

2.0

Gurge

1.5

-----

1.0

Arsenault

0.5

-----

0.0

LePoer

Round 5 pairings on June 3:

Couture vs. Gladding

Felton vs. Brassard

Arsenault vs. Laine

LePoer 0F-1F Gurge

"B"
Division

Eduardo
Unstoppable!

Congratulations to Eduardo on his
4th consecutive victory and congratulations to
Stephan Chromiak on his first-ever tournament
victory!

Paul Giovino

0-1

Eduardo Valadares

Eugene Bedard

0-1

Brian Biglow

Mark Norris

0-1

Arthur Barlas

Jeff Lischer

0-1

Tom Fratturelli

Stephan Chromiak

1-0

Ken Carabba

Mike Sheridan

1-0

Richard Chromiak

CURRENT "B" DIVISION
STANDINGS

Points

4.0

Valadares

3.5

-----

3.0

Biglow

2.5

Barlas, Fratturelli, Steadman

2.0

Giovino, Bedard, Miller, Norris, S.
Chromiak

1.5

Lischer, Sheridan, Sewell,
Fandreyer, Carabba

1.0

R. Chromiak

New England's Top 25 Players As Of May 25, 2009

STATE

TITLE/NAME

RATING

PREV

1

MA

GM LARRY M
CHRISTIANSEN

2681

1

2

CT

GM ILDAR IBRAGIMOV

2628

2

3

CT

GM SERGEY KUDRIN

2626

5

4

RI

JORGE
SAMMOUR HASBUN

2603

9

5

MA

GM ROMAN DZINDZICHASHVILI

2598

4

5

MA

GM EUGENE PERELSHTEYN

2598

3

7

NH

GM JOSHUA EDWARD
FRIEDEL

2591

7

8

MA

IM MIKHAIL SHUR

2565

8

9

MA

GM ALEXANDER IVANOV

2560

6

10

MA

IM IGOR FOYGEL

2493

10

11

MA

DENYS
K SHMELOV

2485

12

12

MA

IM DAVID VIGORITO

2484

15

13

MA

IM RICO ZENKLUSEN

2465

-

14

CT

BOGDAN
GABRIEL VIOREANU

2461

13

15

MA

IM JONATHAN YEDIDIA

2448

11

16

MA

MARC R ESSERMAN

2441

-

17

MA

FM CHARLES R
RIORDAN

2413

17

18

MA

IM WILLIAM MARK
PASCHALL

2408

21

19

CT

IM ROBERT ANDREW
HUNGASKI

2385

19

20

MA

FM WILLIAM J
KELLEHER

2378

16

21

NH

IM JOSEPH H FANG

2377

22

22

MA

FM JACOB CHUDNOVSKY

2369

18

23

CT

FM ADNAN KOBAS

2368

20

24

NH

FM BRADEN BOURNIVAL

2364

23

25

MA

FM JOHANN C HAKER

2356

14

Notes:

- Rico Zenklusen is a 27-year-old IM from
Switzerland. He us currently attending MIT.

- Jorge Sammour
Hasbun made the biggest jump from the previous list, going from #9
to #4 with a rating increase of 40 points.

Congratulations also to
Mark
Norris
of Fitchburg who increased his rating by 205 points.
In the last 6 tournaments Mark has raised his rating
by an amazing 866 points!The sky's the limit for Mark!

Martin Laine

0-1

Larry Gladding

Ken Gurge

1/2-1/2

Dave Couture

George Mirijanian

1/2-1/2

Bruce Felton

Gary Brassard

1-0

Eugene Bedard

Lenny Arsenault

1-0

Paul Giovino

Wayne Steadman

0-1

George Miller

Jeff Lischer

1/2-1/2

Brian Biglow

Eduardo Valadares

1-0

Tom Fratturelli

Max Sewell

1-0

Ernest Fandreyer

Geoff LePoer, Mark Norris, Michael
Sheridan, Francis Scanlon, and Ken
Carabba did not play the round.

FINAL
STANDINGS

Points

4.0

Gladding

3.5

Gurge, Couture

3.0

Felton, LePoer, Brassard, Laine,
Arsenault

2.5

Mirijanian, Miller, Norris

2.0

Giovino, Bedard, Valadares, Sewell

1.5

Lischer, Biglow, Steadman

1.0

Fratturelli, Sheridan, Scanlon

0.5

-----

0.0

Fandreyer, Carabba

Pairings for the "A" finals:

Round 1 - May 6

(5) Felton vs. (3) Arsenault

(6) Brassard vs. (2) LePoer

(7) Gladding vs. (1) Laine

(4) Couture vs. (8) Gurge

Round 2 - May 13

(2) LePoer vs. (5) Felton

(1) Laine vs. (6) Brassard

(8) Gurge vs. (7) Gladding

(3) Arsenault vs. (4) Couture

Round 3 - May 20

(5) Felton vs. (1) Laine

(4) Couture vs. (2) LePoer

(3) Arsenault vs. (8) Gurge

(6) Brassard vs. (7) Gladding

Round 4 - May 27

(7) Gladding vs. (5) Felton

(2) LePoer vs. (3) Arsenault

(8) Gurge vs. (6) Brassard

(1) Laine vs. (4) Couture

Round 5 - June 3

(5) Felton vs. (6) Brassard

(2) LePoer vs. (8) Gurge

(3) Arsenault vs. (1) Laine

(4) Couture vs. (7) Gladding

Round 6 - June 10

(8) Gurge vs. (5) Felton

(1) Laine vs. (2) LePoer

(6) Brassard vs. (4) Couture

(7) Gladding vs. (3) Arsenault

Round 7 (final) - June 17

(4) Couture vs. (5) Felton

(2) LePoer vs. (7) Gladding

(3) Arsenault vs. (6) Brassard

(1) Laine vs. (8) Gurge

April 22nd, 2009

Wachusett CC Championship Prelims

Round 4 (of 5)

E

veryone
at the club wishes George Mirijanian a speedy
recovery. George was taken to the
emergency room Wednesday night after his
pacemaker started acting up. He is
currently down in Worcester for observation and
more advanced tests. He will hopefully be
home very soon.

As I
wrote two and a half years ago, George is the
one who has made this club possible for many,
many years. Best of luck George! Do
whatever you need to do to get healthy. We
all look forward to seeing you healthy again
soon.

Congratulations to Bruce Felton
of Fitchburg, who won the 2009 Wachusett CC
Quick Chess Championship. Runner-up was
Billerica Chess Club champion
Andrew Tichenor,
a high-rated expert from Brookline, MA, whom
Bruce defeated in the third round. Tied for
third were
George Mirijanian
of Fitchburg, Geoff LePoer
of Westford, and Martin Laine
of Lunenburg.

Round-by-round results

Round 1

Brian Biglow 0-1 Andrew Tichenor

George Mirijanian 1-0 Eduardo Valadares

George Miller 0-1 Geoffrey LePoer

Bruce Felton 1-0 Michael Sheridan

Ernest Fandreyer 0-1 Gary Brassard

Martin Laine 1-0 Francis Scanlon

Mark Norris 0-1 Paul Giovino

Ken Gurge 1-0 Ken Carabba

Round 2

Tichenor 1-0 Laine

Brassard 0-1 Mirijanian

LePoer 0-1 Gurge

Giovino 0-1 Felton

Scanlon 0-1 Biglow

Valadares 0-1 Fandreyer

Carabba 0-1 Miller

Sheridan 1-0 Norris

Round 3

Felton 1-0 Tichenor

Mirijanian 1-0 Gurge

Biglow 0-1 LePoer

Miller 0-1 Brassard

Laine 1-0 Sheridan

Fandreyer 0-1 Giovino

Norris 0-1 Valadares

Carabba 0-1 Scanlon

Round 4

Felton 1/2-1/2 Mirijanian

Tichenor 1-0 Giovino

LePoer 1/2-1/2 Laine

Gurge 0-1 Brassard

Sheridan 1-0 Biglow

Valadares 1-0 Scanlon

Fandreyer 0-1 Miller

Norris 1-0 Carabba

Round 5

Mirijanian 0-1 Tichenor

Brassard 0-1 Felton

Giovino 0-1 LePoer

Laine 1-0 Gurge

Miller 1-0 Valadares

Sheridan 1-0 Fandreyer

Scanlon 1-0 Norris

Biglow 1-0 Carabba

FINAL STANDINGS

4.5 - Felton

4.0 - Tichenor

3.5 - Mirijanian, LePoer, Laine

3.0 - Brassard, Miller, Sheridan

2.5
- -----

2.0 -
Giovino, Gurge, Biglow, Valadares, Scanlon

1.5
- -----

1.0 -
Fandreyer, Norris

0.5
- -----

0.0 - Carabba

March 18th, 2009

George E. O'Rourke Memorial

Final Round (of 5)

Ken Again!

For
the second year in a row,
Ken
Gurge
of Leominster has won the George E. O'Rourke
Memorial tournament. And he did it by defeating
frontrunner
Bruce
Felton
of Fitchburg in the final round! Bruce, who
was leading the 22-player field with a perfect 4-0
score going into the last round, needed only a draw
to clinch first place. But Ken saw that that was not
going to happen, for he won a rook early on in the
game in which Bruce played the Najdorf Variation of
the Sicilian Defense and forced the game down to a
king and rook vs. king ending that saw Bruce
overstep the time limit in a dead-lost position.
George Edmund O'Rourke must have been rooting for
Ken from above, for Ken was the last person to play
a USCF-rated game - a draw - with George on Feb. 21,
2007 before he died on Feb. 26 of that year.

-
George M.

Congratulations also to
Geoff
LePoer of Westford and
Gary
Brassard
of Leominster who tied for 3rd place and Mark
Norris
of Fitchburg who increased his rating by 95 points.
In the last 5 tournaments Robert has raised his
rating by an incredible 661 points!

Westford’s LePoer wins chess tourney

By Stephen Vittorioso / Staff Writer (Westford Eagle)

Fri Feb 27, 2009, 12:21 PM EST

Westford -
Geoffrey LePoer sat around a chessboard playing the white
figures in the final match against the current club champion.

The 43-year-old Westford man offered his
competitor Martin Laine a draw – an agreement between the two
players to end the game in a time – but he did not accept it. So
LePoer later got him and ended the near four-hour duel and
five-week tournament as a champion.

“Given that I haven’t played in seven years, I
didn’t expect to win,” LePoer said. “If you can get hot for
three or four weeks, you’re in the game. It’s just like American
Idol.”

Beating 24 participants, LePoer won the Feb. 11
Reggie Boone Memorial Chess Tournament by earning a score of 4.5
points out of a possible 5. The Wachusett Chess Club, one of the
oldest and most active chess clubs in Massachusetts, sponsored
the five-week tournament that was held at Fitchburg State
College and rated by the U.S. Chess Federation in Crossville,
Tenn.

“Three of [LePoer’s] wins were against
higher-rated players,” said tournament director George
Mirijanian in an e-mail to the Eagle. “As a result of his
victory, Geoff has moved up in the club’s ranking to No. 3.”

LePoer is no stranger to winning competitive
chess, which has about a 55 percent chance of winning if
participants play the white figures over the black ones, he
said.

In 1999, he won the Wachusett Chess Club
Championship and is currently rated Class A by the U.S. Chess
Federation. In early 1980s, the former Ashby native played for
the North Middlesex Regional High School chess team in the North
Worcester County Scholastic Chess League.

“It’s the most extreme of puzzles,” LePoer said
of his passion for chess. “Some people like crosswords, but for
me that is a static activity. I like playing against someone. I
like the analysis. I love tournaments and competitions.”

LePoer said both his sixth-grade teacher and his
uncle helped spark his chess interest. He now plays the game,
which emerged from Southern Europe during the second half of the
15th century, as often as he can. Consisting of
sixteen pieces, including one king, one queen, two knights and
eight pawns, the game is played on a 64-square chessboard and is
one of the world’s most popular activities.

LePoer is currently playing in the George
O’Rourke Memorial Tournament, a five-week contest that ends
March 18. He is also hoping to qualify again for the Wachusett
Chess Club Tournament, held later this spring.

But will he win those matches?

“One game at a time,” he said. “I’m hanging in
there.”

Staff Writer Stephen Vittorioso can be
reached at 978-371-5727 or at
svittori@cnc.com.

Nationally ranked chess player Bruce O.
Felton poses with a chess set in his Fitchburg home.
Mr. Felton will speak on race in the chess world at
4 p.m. today at Fitchburg State College. (T&G
Staff/CHRISTINE PETERSON)

Even
though white moves first, it doesn’t mean
black doesn’t win. A person that has the
second move has just as much opportunity as
the one that moved first. It’s how you look
at life. That’s the big thing that chess
shows you — that everyone that moves first
doesn’t always win.

Bruce O. Felton,
FITCHBURG CHESS PLAYER

FITCHBURG — Nationally ranked chess
player Bruce O. Felton said that the message of his talk for
Black History Month at Fitchburg State College today will be
that the sport has nothing to do with race and everything to do
with a person’s character.

Mr. Felton, 55, is the highest-rated chess player in
Fitchburg and the only African-American in the Wachusett Chess
Club, housed at Fitchburg State College.

But when he started playing “street chess” in 1972 when
he lived in Akron, Ohio, he said all his opponents were
African-Americans.

It was a time when Robert James “Bobby”
Fischer, an American chess grandmaster and the 11th World Chess
Champion, was big on the scene, he said.

“When Bobby Fischer, who was an American, won the world
championship, there was an explosion of chess on television,” he
said. “African-Americans everywhere were playing chess and
interested in learning and playing the game.”

Mr. Fischer’s success as the first, and so far the only,
American to win the official World Chess Championship, defeating
defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, inspired
Mr. Felton, he said.

When a friend encouraged him to start organizing
neighborhood teams and matches, he said he loved the idea.

“I was mostly in contact with the inner-city community,
and it was mostly African-Americans I dealt with then,” Mr.
Felton said. “There were not too many Caucasians to integrate
with then. It was different in Akron than here in Fitchburg.
Here, I feel like I am the only minority in the club.”

He said the street chess he was playing and sometimes
still plays in Fitchburg is much different than playing in
organized tournaments and clubs rated by the U.S. Chess
Federation, where a chairman oversees the matches.

“In the streets, people usually say what they want and
they use verbal tactics — anything goes,” he explained.

“When you play in the streets, even in Fitchburg, people
talk, smoke, blow smoke in your face, to try to take your mind
off the game. You can say anything you want to your opponent,
and you see a lot of crazy stuff to try to break concentration.”

In the chess club and at tournaments, he said, people
play by the rules, and no one is talking.

He attributes the lack of African-American players in
the club not to race but to an unwillingness for beginners to
hang in there.

“It is not about race, but about personality,” he said.
“You have to hang in there — everyone wants to be the best, but
sometimes you have to start out sweeping the floor.”

He said he never looks at color when playing in a match.

“It is funny when you first learn chess,” he said.
“White always moves first and black has the second move. But,
guess what? Even though white moves first, it doesn’t mean black
doesn’t win. A person that has the second move has just as much
opportunity as the one that moved first. It’s how you look at
life. That’s the big thing that chess shows you — that everyone
that moves first doesn’t always win.”

Mr. Felton worked in manufacturing for most of his adult
life before injuring his neck in December. He graduated with a
bachelor of science degree in sociology from Fitchburg State in
1987.

He said he plans to start a program at a local community
center, teaching youths how to play chess.

“Chess can teach important lessons to young people,” he
said. “They learn, if you make a move, you can’t take it back.
It gets them to realize the importance one move can make and
gets them to think, ‘If I make this step and I am here — is this
where I want to be?’ ”

Mr.
Felton is the guest speaker on race in the chess world at 4 p.m.
today in the Ellis White Lecture Hall, Hammond Campus Center,
Fitchburg State.

February 11th, 2009

Reggie Boone Memorial

Final Round (of 5)

The
Return of the King

(with apologies to J.
R. R. Tolkien)

Geoff
LePoer
of Westford (club champion in 1999) completed his
successful return to the club with yet another win
tonight over club champion
Martin Laine
of Lunenburg, going 4-0 for the tournament.
Congratulations to Geoff for his 1st place finish.
Congratulations also to
Gary Brassard
of Leominster,
Paul Giovino
of Lunenburg, and
Dave Couture
of Westminster on tying for 2nd place.

Also,
congratulations to the following players who had rating
gains of more than 50 points:

MARK NORRIS +128
GEOFFREY LEPOER +74
KENNETH CARABBA +56

Geoffrey
LePoer

1-0

Martin
Laine

Dave
Couture

1-0

Larry
Gladding

Gary
Brassard

1-0

Jeff
Lischer

Tom
Fratturelli

0-1

Paul
Giovino

Kenneth
Gurge

1-0

Brian
Biglow

Bruce
Felton

1-0

Mark
Norris

Eugene
Bedard

1-0

George
Miller

Eduardo
Valadares

1-0

Ernest
Fandreyer

Kenneth
Carabba

0-1

Peter
Short

Wayne
Steadman

1/2-1/2

Max Sewell

George Mirijanian, Arthur Barlas, Michael Sheridan and
Francis Scanlon did not play the round.

There
were 22 players at the club tonight - a number not seen
in many years. Two of the games went right down to the
wire, with

Tom
Fratturelli
winning on time and
Geoff LePoer
winning in a time scramble. Next week, Geoff will
take on
Martin Laine
to determine the tournament winner.
Geoff is returning to tournament chess after a break of
6 years and has won each of the 3 games he's played
since returning!

They call it stormy
MondayBut Tuesday's just as bad.They call it stormy
MondayBut Tuesdays just as bad.Lord, and Wednesday's
worse...

- T-Bone Walker ("Stormy Monday Blues")

Well yet another winter storm has
closed Fitchburg State College for the day, so the club was
closed tonight and all players received a half-point bye.
Let's hope next Wednesday is storm-free...

January 21st, 2009

Reggie Boone Memorial

Round 2 (of 5)

Martin Laine

1/2-1/2

Dave Couture

Geoff LePoer

1-0

Larry Gladding

Gary Brassard

1/2-1/2

Ken Gurge

Ernest Fandreyer

0-1

Paul Giovino

Eugene Bedard

1-0

Michael Sheridan

Max Sewell

0-1

Eduardo Valadares

Brian Biglow

1-0

Francis Scanlon

Ken Carabba

0-1

George Miller

Wayne Steadman

1/2-1/2

Mark Norris

CURRENT STANDINGS

Points

2.0

Giovino, LePoer

1.5

Laine, Brassard, Couture, Gurge, Barlas, Lischer

1.0

Gladding, Bedard, Valadares, Biglow, Miller, Fandreyer

0.5

Mirijanian, Steadman, Norris

0.0

Sheridan, Sewell, Carabba, Scanlon

January 14th, 2009

Reggie Boone Memorial

Round 1 (of 5)

Upsets and Close Calls

We had three new players
join the club tonight: Geoffrey LePoer of
Westford, formerly of Acton and Ashby, who won
the Wachusett CC Championship in 1999 and last
played at the club in June 2003 in the Al
Horowitz Memorial tournament; Eugene Bedard of
Gardner, formerly of Fitchburg, who last played
at the club in June 1993 when he took part in
the "B" section of the WCC championship;
and newcomer Michael Sheridan of Petersham,
formerly of Athol, who was a member many years
ago of the Pequoig Chess Club, later Kingsmen
Chess Club in Athol.

The highlights of the
night were a pair of upsets: the ever-dangerous
Ernest Fandreyer won a 490-point upset and Jeff
Lischer won a 310-point upset. George Miller,
Wayne Steadman, and Mark Norris also all put up good
fights against their higher-rated opponents.